Successful Strategic Planning and Execution in Human Resources_A Client Case Study

Successful Strategic Planning and Execution in Human Resources
A Client Case Study
Copyright 2014 ChangePac, LLC. All Rights Reserved
“We needed to know why we exist and
our purpose. Our segmented teams
were very focused on doing ‘our thing’
but didn’t really know why or what
value it was adding. A plan was
necessary to drive collaboration and
make our purpose known.”
Rita Essaian, PHR Executive
Administrator
The Physician Human Resources (PHR) department of a prominent healthcare system embarked on a
strategic planning journey to promote a greater sense of team unity; refine the department’s mission,
vision, and values; and clarify the purpose and value of PHR’s work to the larger organization. PHR
consists of eight departments and approximately 150 employees. Although the departments are based
in the regional office, they provide service to over 8,000 physicians in 13 service areas ranging from Kern
County to San Diego and from the Inland Empire to the Coast.
The Client’s Challenge
Our client set out to overcome historical and cultural
obstacles in order to create department purpose,
direction, and unity by:
 Re-establishing the mission, vision, and values of
PHR
 Actively engaging in collaborative strategic
planning activities and decision making that
included leadership and staff
 Shifting from a focus on projects to a focus on
people, outcomes and results
 Building credibility for the strategic effort
 Providing opportunities to build internal
capability to ensure successful strategy execution

A Client Case Study
ChangePac’s Solution
Support the client’s journey by leveraging Rapid Solution
Workshops to collaboratively build the foundation of a
PHR five year strategy through:
 Refinement of the PHR mission, vision, and values
 Clarification of support expectations among PHR
departments
 Identification of the interactions and behaviors
required to support the PHR mission, vision, and
values
 Development of solutions to address opportunities
for improvement
 Development of guiding principles for building a
strategic plan
 Identification of strategic goals and alignment to a
timeline
 Identification of outcomes to ensure clarity of
strategic value
Additionally, ChangePac’s solution included:
 Focus group activities that served to gather and
incorporate staff feedback for the strategic plan,
as well as the refined PHR mission, vision, and
values
 Training to build internal project and change
management capability
 Ongoing facilitation support and education to
position internal teams to successfully manage the
execution of strategic objectives
“There was a real hunger for
direction, change, and knowing our
purpose. The approach to strategic
planning provided the structure we
needed to address this hunger.”
Administrator

A Client Case Study
Client Results
As a result of implementing ChangePac’s solutions, our client experienced:
 Unification of the PHR department
 Increased employee engagement
 Positive changes in culture
 Successful execution of their strategy
 A renewed focus for addressing business challenges
Unification of the PHR Department
According to Rita Essaian, PHR Executive Administrator, “The
journey of planning and executing the strategy promoted a
greater sense of unity. In fact, our teams across departments
talk to one another and engage one another more now than
before.” Having participated in Rapid Solution Workshops and
focus groups, our client has adopted a new mindset and has
internally branded their efforts to support their redefined
mission, vision, and values as “OnePHR.” Our client’s leaders
and staff actively embrace and own their strategic direction.
“Through this experience, we
began to recognize our
interdependency and that we
needed to work together to be
successful.”
Administrator

A Client Case Study
Increased Employee Engagement
The strategic planning journey has also resulted in staff becoming
more proactively involved in supporting the strategic direction. In
fact, employees are designing new ways to engage and recognize
one another for demonstrating the new PHR values, as is seen in
the active participation of our client’s Values in Action recognition
program.
Through active involvement, employees are now critically
examining their work and are bringing new ideas, suggestions,
and innovative approaches to the table more than ever before.
Improved cross-department collaboration has provided a
platform for employees to work together to improve the way they
operate. Our client’s development of a comprehensive curriculum
to support a year-long focus on Customer Service serves as a
prime example of team unity, ownership, and accountability in
creating positive outcomes for a strategic initiative. Participation
across all departments and levels is encouraged -- almost half of
the department has already participated on a project team. This
increased level of engagement is also demonstrated by the
department leaders, as Directors are now actively mentoring
project teams in the execution of strategic work.
“There is more engagement and
involvement overall.”
Administrator

A Client Case Study
“The building of our strategy
created excitement and energy
while improving our morale.”
Mary Vergara, PHR Director,
Total Compensation
Positive Changes in Culture
The positive impact of this strategic journey on leaders and staff is
noticeable. As leaders and staff incorporate the journey into their
own day-to-day work, they are beginning to demonstrate a marked
increase in their level of accountability and ownership of PHR’s
new strategic direction.
Individuals think and behave differently, as is evident in their
willingness to challenge one another’s way of thinking to drive
change and move initiatives forward. The teams now engage in
more candid dialogue regarding strategy, resource constraints, and
managing competing priorities. They have a more concentrated
focus on the behaviors they feel are necessary to perpetuate the
positive impact on culture, and ultimately create their desired
experience.
According to Mary Vergara, PHR Director of Total
Compensation, “The strategic planning journey really
matured us as a team of Directors. We now approach more
difficult conversations with an attitude of respect, and are
more open in sharing our thoughts with one another.”
“The journey has impacted
our culture in a positive
way. We behave and think
differently. People are really
seeing the difference in our
environment.”
Administrator

A Client Case Study
Successful Execution of the Strategy
The experience provided our client with a clearer
understanding of how to bring a strategy to life. The
strategic plan and timeline produced by participating in a
series of Rapid Solution Workshops helped guide teams on
where to focus their efforts to begin driving sustainable
change.
Furthermore, our client has maintained a commitment to
fostering ongoing department dialogue and continuously
soliciting feedback from staff, both of which have been
instrumental in allowing PHR leadership to remain flexible and
adapt to changing needs during strategy execution.
“Rather than using a top down
approach, we are working
together as one team, where
everyone has a seat at the table
to contribute.”
Mary Vergara, PHR Director,
Total Compensation
“We have generated excitement,
ownership and credibility for our
strategic direction. We are
results focused and doing what
we said we would do.”
Administrator

A Client Case Study
Building project and organizational change management
capability was an important factor in our client’s ability to
successfully move their strategy forward. The proven
methods and tools provided through educational
workshops have been adopted by the project teams
responsible for working the strategy.
According to Nathan Trothing, PHR Operations Manager,
“Both the project and change management training really
helped to lay out the actions I need to take as a project
manager. I now understand how the tools relate to
different stages of a project to effectively manage change.”
From Nathan’s perspective, the experience in building
internal project and change management capability has
contributed to successful execution of the strategy by
bringing departments together to focus on practicing a
common project approach. The experience has promoted
team relationship building, and allowed these teams to use
their new skills and tools to follow through on achieving
goals. As Nathan commented, “People have used the
experience to take on opportunities to lead and to be
recognized, and this is what helps us to create more
capability.”
“The methods, skills, and tools
we gained through education
enabled our internal teams to do
their strategic work, and
challenged them to think about
how to sustain long term change.
Without this, we may not have
been successful.”
Administrator
“Building internal capability has
caused us to want to use the skills we
learned to do things right, to make
sense of our direction, and to strive
for desired results, while promoting
innovation and problem solving.”
Administrator

A Client Case Study
A Renewed Focus for Addressing Business Challenges
The strategic planning experience has set the stage
for how our client addresses current and future
business challenges. Because our client realizes the
value their work provides to the larger
organization, they are committed to thinking “big”
about opportunities to do things differently and
with greater efficiency. They are now more
compelled to use business challenges as a platform
to transition to a more proactive and responsive
way of managing their business. With a renewed
focus on continuously improving areas of their
business, the team is directly impacting the
financial performance of the organization while
also reinforcing their commitment to their new
mission, vision, and values.
“The leaders within my department
are approaching their work with the
lens of how to do things better, as
opposed to doing things the way we
have in the past.”
Administrator

Successful Strategic Planning and Execution in Human Resources_A Client Case Study

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